The Slice: It’s the next best thing to Mr. Potato Head

Spokane Valley’s Mary Farley thinks her best friend, Brenda, has the dog with the best pet name in North Idaho.

“Her black Lab is named Spud.”

OK, let’s move on.

“Slice answers: “Yes, I have played a musical instrument on — well, no, it wasn’t a mountain TOP, but it may still be higher than most people go,” wrote Margie Heller, a former member of the Spokane Symphony’s string section.

“In 1980, my husband and I took a three-month trip to India and Nepal. I took along a fiddle to stay in shape musically and as a way to make connections with people whose language I could not speak.

“I carried that fiddle on our trek through the Himalayas and over Thorong La, which is a mountain pass of 17,700 feet on the north side of the Annapurna massif.

“It was a difficult climb in very cold weather, so when we finally reached the top of the pass, I celebrated by removing my gloves long enough to play a couple of tunes.

“What did I play? Why, ‘She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain,’ of course.”

Wes Hughes shared a story from a little closer to home.

“For several years, I would take my five-string banjo with me to elk camp in the Cascades so I could practice for our band’s upcoming gigs,” he wrote. “When I finished practicing, it seemed only fitting to rip off a little of Earl Scruggs’ ‘Bugle Call Rag.’ “

“Just wondering: Ever tried to keep track of the number of times Interstate 90 crosses over the Clark Fork?

“The eternal struggle: Angry at the rodents that dug up your flower bulbs?

Well, there’s nothing new about that.

Donna Potter Phillips passed along a copy of a letter to the editor that appeared in the Palouse Gazette in 1878.

The writer called for a war of extermination against squirrels. He proposed offering a bounty on the “pesky little wretches.”

“Another eye for talent: Don Adair read my account of misjudging the prospects for a Spokane Chiefs player who went on to enjoy a long National Hockey League career. “I think I can one-up you,” he wrote.

Here’s his story.

“My then-wife and I saw Ron Cey play his first game with the Spokane Indians, which were then the Dodgers’ AAA farm team. After watching Ron wave at a grounder that scooted through his legs I turned to my wife and confidently predicted the kid would never make it.

“Of course, he went on to become the Dodgers’ solution at third base for a decade and I gave up my dreams of making it as a scout.”

“Warm-up question: Who holds the record for postponing the launch date of a new diet?

“Today’s Slice question: If the Spokane area was actually one large summer camp, what would be its name?